Without goals a football field is an empty plot of grass.
But with goals, now you have a game!
Have A Target
In my Do What You Want books I wrote:
“You do not need to read book after book or study after study to know that setting goals is important to getting what you want. If you are firing a gun, you already know that you damn well better have a target.”
Yet few people clearly define targets for their career and life.
They might have a loose idea of where they are headed, but like an offensive line just moseying down the pitch, you rarely score that way.
Goals = Focus
Getting started, a new client said to me, “I get goals are important, but what is the real purpose of defining my goals?”
One word: “Focus.”
When you clearly define your goals you know what does and doesn’t matter to you and you know how to prioritize your time.
And because no spare time is going to magically appear for you to put towards your goals, getting what you want is a matter of focus and prioritizing your time.
Without clear goals, many people are running ragged chasing dozens of balls around an empty field, but if you want to win the game of life, you need focus. You need goals.
And although many people turn goal setting into a complex and painful exercise, it should be fast, easy, and fun:
Right now, take a moment to get excited about what you want and why you want it, then write down three clear goals and three actions you are now committed to taking.